After the slight mishap of staring at Seungwan's hand for just a smidge too long, the rest of the week went by without a hitch. In fact, and Joohyun wouldn't admit this to anyone, working with Seungwan was almost... pleasant? 

Seulgi truly wasn't lying when she said that the younger lawyer was qualified. 

With already a handful of formidable cases racked up under her belt at her old firm, Seungwan worked with the precision and authority of a veteran lawyer. She knew who to call to get background information on the accused, knew who to talk to amongst the police department, and most importantly, Seungwan was neat. She never left a mess of papers on her desk and she even recycled.

Every morning, Seungwan would walk in with a color-coded notebook, a double shot of espresso, and the largest smile on her face. She was diligent, peaceful, and attentive to her work. Maybe Joohyun was a little impressed.

"Hey Joohyun, I got you the tea that you like when I stopped for coffee this morning!"

Okay, maybe Joohyun was very impressed.

By Friday evening, with the help of both of the lawyers' secretaries, they already had a decent argument laid out in front of them and went home without having to do extra work. Doing this joint case had, so far, turned out to be a blessing and not the curse Joohyun was scared of.

--

It was now 6 am on a beautifully crisp Saturday morning and Joohyun felt amazing. She had caught up on all her administrative work, done laundry, and even managed to find some time to prepare her favorite overnight oats the night before. So with one last stretch of her sore limbs, Joohyun began preparing herself for the day.

A refreshing shower and a bowl of oats later, she sat on the curb outside of her apartment building waiting for Seulgi and Sooyoung to pick her up for their weekly coffee shop hangout. The cool breeze of the autumn season had begun creeping its way into the air and pushing out the last remnants of a humid and scalding summer. The wind blew Joohyun's hair gently, nipping at her face and putting her mind at ease as she waited.

Seulgi always had a knack for being late. Weddings, dates, birthday parties, the girls struggle with time was like her own personal boss battle. However, once she met Sooyoung, things started to change. Joohyun can remember the first and consequently the last time Seulgi was late for an outing with Sooyoung. 20 missed calls, 85 unread messages, and one very distraught bear later, Seulgi's time management problem was gone.

At exactly 8:00 she could see the shapes of her two best friends appear around the corner. 

"Hyun I have fantastic news!" Seulgi announced as they began the relatively short walk to their coffee shop. "So, I did a little background research-"

"And by that, she means stalking with the help of Yerim."

"No, research!" Seulgi mumbled as she swatted at Sooyoung's arm. "I asked Yeri to help me find out a little more background information on Seungwan, and guess what? She's gay! And single! And you know who else is gay and single? Bae Joohyun, my beautiful and lonely best friend!" 

Once again, the thought of strangling Kang Seulgi pops into her mind, but she brushes it away. Too many witnesses Joohyun thinks to herself.

"Seul, for the last time, I am not interested in anyone. Especially at the office. Do you know how..." The word unprofessional dies out in when she looks at the intertwined fingers of her secretary and the civil justice lawyer.

 Right... 

"It's just, I prefer not to mix my personal life with my work." She finishes softly looking anywhere else but the couple.

"You know Joohyun? I thought that too when you and Seul first joined the company," Sooyoung said while softly rubbing the back of her girlfriend's hand. "But then I realized, that lawyers usually have a lot of pent up stress because of all the casework they do and that makes them just so much better at-"

What is the sentencing for double homicides like again? Joohyun would probably be looking at life in prison with no chance of bail or parole. In New York specifically, she'd be looking at 25 years to life in prison for two-second degree murders. Not worth it. For now at least.

Before she could hear another word from Sooyoung's rated m for mature speech, she ducked into the little hole in the wall cafe, safely away from the 25-year-old devil incarnate and her blushing best friend.

The cafe was quiet and calm this morning. It was too late for the morning birds and too early for the night owls and hungover college students. The perfect time to unwind and catch up after a busy week. And, the bonus of knowing who was gonna be on shift was nice too.

"Hey, Joohyun," Jennie, her favorite barista greeted her from behind the counter. "The usual?"

"Yes please, and a large latte with a red velvet muffin for Seul and Soo to share." Said couple had already found a small table in the back for them to use. It wasn't theirs, but with the amount of time they've spent in those seats, it was an unspoken rule for the Saturday regulars that the table was occupied at this hour. Joohyun finished paying and went to wait for Jennie to put her drinks on the shelf.

"Joohyun?" 

Turning around, she came face to face with her tiny blonde-haired trial partner.

Seungwan was dressed down. A stark difference from the version of her that Joohyun sees at the office. She was dressed in a simple baby blue sweater, black skinny jeans that hugged her legs nicely, and a beanie on her head that made her face look so adorably round. With little to no makeup, Seungwan looked a lot younger and carefree. Her eyes a little puffy, probably from just waking up, and her mochi cheeks tinged a little rosy from the autumnal breeze outside. She looked cute and tiny and Joohyun was confused about how the well-respected lawyer could look so... small.

"Earth to Joohyun..." A voice snapped her out of her daze.

In hindsight, Joohyun did try to say just about anything other than "Oh, mochi."  But sometimes brains don't function like that. The words slipped out before she could stop them.

"Mochi? Joohyun are you okay?" Seunwan looked at her questioningly.

"I just forgot to order my... my mochi! Seungwan, hi. Fancy seeing you outside of work." 

A lawyer that gay panics, how comically sad. 

"I don't usually come here, but Yeri recommended it to me earlier this week so I thought I'd try it out. Do you come here often?"

"Oh yeah, I love this place. I come here with-" Turning around to gesture at the couple that accompanied her, Joohyun was met with the sight of an empty table and she knew that somewhere, two smirking faces were hiding and mocking her. The s had left her high and dry. "I come here by myself," Joohyun concluded.

Mental note: Kill Kang Seulgi, Park Sooyoung, and Kim Yerim.

"Hey Hyun your stuff is ready," Jennie called out pushing the latte and tea out. "Grab your muffin from the front."

"Two drinks and a muffin and you still wanted mochi? I thought you didn't drink coffee." 

It's true, Joohyun hated the drink, she always had, but she never mentioned that to Seungwan.

"Sooyoung told me, I asked her for your order when you almost fell asleep in the office." Seungwan quickly added. The pink on her cheeks became slightly more obvious as she turned away from Joohyun and glanced at the menu. "So two drinks? Are you waiting for anyone?"

"Well I was gonna wait for Seulgi but I don't think she's gonna show up today. Have you ordered yet?"

"Not yet, I don't know what to get. Any recommendations?"

"How about a latte and half a red velvet muffin?" Joohyun said, grabbing the drinks. "If you aren't busy, we can sit down and get to know each other more. It'll help us look more natural during the trial." 

"I'd like that. I'll grab the muffin and you can grab us a table," Seungwan said with a small smile playing on her face.

As Seungwan went to go grab the muffin, Joohyun made her way to the previously occupied table and searched for any sign of the ditchers. Sure enough, Joohyun found them peeking in from outside. Seulgi smirked at her and gave a very poorly attempted wink while Sooyoung just made a heart with her hands and pulled the smaller bear down the street.

"If I didn't know any better, that window must have murdered your entire family," Seungwan said as she sat down with the muffin in her hand. "And here, I got you the mochi you wanted." She added while pushing a pack of 6 mochi balls towards Joohyun. 

Joohyun quietly thanked her and began fidgeting with her tea. She didn't know Seungwan at all, and as resident introvert of the firm, she dreaded small talk. She'd rather take the bar exam all over again if it meant never having to partake in any small talk for the rest of her life. 

"So..." Joohyun awkwardly stammered out. "Why switch firms after such a successful time with the Hwangs?" The question had been bugging Joohyun since her first reading of Seungwan's file. The girl was practically at the top of the firm already, yet she still decided to switch. 

"My boss transferred me here," Seungwan began. "She said that the Kim firm was still growing and that I would be better suited for a job here. I'm glad I was transferred though, I already have made more friends in the past two weeks than in two years at that firm. Something about me just doesn't charm the 60-year-old raggedy- lawyers. Which is weird since I usually have a thing for older ladies."

Poor Joohyun chose the wrong time to be taking a sip of her tea because as soon as those words left Seungwan's mouth, tea shot straight out of her nose. Grabbing a napkin she tried to pull herself together as her partner laughed in front of her. "How- How much older?" Joohyun stammered out, dabbing away the last bit of liquid.

"Only like two to three years Joohyun. I'm not insane, don't worry."

After that rather bizarre icebreaker, conversation flowed normally. Joohyun found herself loosening up and enjoying her time getting to know Seungwan. She found out that Seungwan has an English name, and that she only went by "Wendy" in college because it was easier on the professors. She found out Seungwan graduated from Harvard and moved from Boston to New York just two years ago. And finally, she found out that Seungwan's laugh was loud and warming. 

After an hour or so of telling stories and answering questions about each other, Seungwan started to grab her things. "Thank you so much for the coffee, I have to run by the police station and pick up some files for work. But, before I forget. Can we exchange numbers? So I can text you about the case." 

Nodding and pulling out her phone, she offered it to Seungwan so she could put her number in. "Sweet, I'll text you! Thank you again," Seungwan said turning away. Joohyun watched from her seat as Seungwan made her way to the door. Before exiting, she turned around and called out "And thank Sooyoung and Seulgi for ditching you, I had a lot of fun." With a wink, the shorter lawyer disappeared behind the doors.

Joohyun felt a blush creep up her neck and buried her face in her hands.

To do list: Locate and destroy dumb and dumber.

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There we have it, chapter 2! Let me know what you guys think about it so far. 

All comments are appreciated and they are a huge motivation. 

Shout out to my twitter cult for supporting me :)

Stay safe and healthy!

-Beardoodlez ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ